Walton Goggins' new look as The Ghoul has been spotted on the Fallout Season 3 set. Prime Video's post-apocalyptic TV series is based on Bethesda's popular video game series, which depicts a world devastated by nuclear bombs. One of the survivors in this world is Goggin's Cooper Howard, a former actor turned into a Ghoul by radiation, who is hunting for his family.
Goggins' Ghoul has long been defined by his red irradiated skin, which forces the actor to spend many hours in the makeup chair each day. Additionally, the post-apocalyptic Western tone of Fallout depicts the Ghoul as akin to a cowboy or bounty hunter, wearing a cattleman's hat and a long trench coat. That will continue into Season 3 of the TV series, though new set images have revealed an updated look at the Ghoul's costume.
Fallout Season 3 set photos shared on Reddit show Goggins walking among crowds of fans in his costume as the Ghoul. His outfit seems noticeably less weathered, with Goggins wearing a blue undershirt, a vest, and his cattleman's hat.
While Goggins' Ghoul makeup is mostly intact, there are some touch-ups to his character's look in post-production, so his look isn't one-to-one with his iteration in the show.
The costume appears distinct from his typical look in the show, which often sees the Ghoul weighed down with battered clothing, an overcoat, and heavy artillery. However, it should be noted that it's unclear if this is Ghoul's final look in the new season of Fallout, as Goggins may have been traveling between sets without all of his costume pieces.
While it's possible that this might be an entirely new costume change for the Ghoul, some have noted it could just be the Ghoul's look when he isn't wearing his cowboy duster.
The outfit does seem like it's the same one Cooper was shown wearing when the bombs dropped on Los Angeles in 2077, just an incredibly weathered version of it. Before the bombs destroyed his city, Cooper was entertaining a children's birthday party in a Sheriff's get-up from one of his movies. The blue of the shirt in these Season 3 set images seems like it could match, and the golden tasseled shirt may have been dirtied and browned after decades of wear.
Further set photos from Fallout Season 3 shared on X did spot a clean version of Cooper Howard's pre-apocalypse outfit, with Goggins (or his stunt double) riding a horse in his same pre-bombs cowboy outfit. This suggests that Fallout Season 3 may revisit Cooper Howard in his pre-Ghoul state, perhaps uncovering more of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the bombs dropping.
Another intriguing element spotted on set was a fake movie poster for Through the Eyes of the Devil, which it says stars "The Gool." The poster features Goggin's Cooper Howard in his Ghoulified state.
These images emerged while Fallout Season 3 was filming at the historic Fox Theatre in Pomona, California, which doubles for the Salt Lake theater. A video from the set (shared on Reddit) shows the Ghoul in his typical attire, with a saddlebag over his shoulder, approaching the theater, where a group of old-school cinema attendants allows him entry.
The surrounding set is filled with burnt-out cars and post-apocalyptic set dressing, suggesting this is set in the modern day and that the Ghoul is visiting the theater in the present.
The cinema is showing "Passion of a Mutant," suggesting there is an ongoing film scene in the post-apocalypse. This has led to speculation that the Ghoul may have continued working as an actor at some point during his 200 years roaming the wasteland, which could explain the "Through the Eyes of the Devil" poster.
Fallout Season 3 is currently in production with no release date set. The series also stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, and Justin Theroux.
What is Walton Goggins' Ghoul Up to in Fallout Season 3?
While it's still too early to tell what Fallout Season 3 has in store for the Ghoul, these set images do provide some interesting theories.
The Season 2 finale of Fallout led the Ghoul to an underground bunker in New Vegas, where he'd hoped Vault-Tec had been keeping his wife and daughter alive in cryopods, only to find them empty. The clues pointed to his family being somewhere in Colorado, setting up the Ghoul for a cross-country journey in Season 3.
The trip from Nevada to Colorado could feasibly take the Ghoul through Salt Lake City, which might explain why a Salt Lake City theater appears to be a part of the modern story based on these new set photos.
It also seems likely that Fallout will continue its run of flashbacks with Goggins, showing him as Cooper Howard in his pre-bombing state, or just after. The inclusion of Cooper in his outfit on the day the bombs dropped suggests fans might finally know what happened to his wife, Barb, and daughter, Janey, in the immediate aftermath of the bombing that led to him losing them, which is a moment that's been kept hidden from audiences so far (and it seems like the mysterious Enclave might be involved).
